Corey Harris | |
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Background information | |
Born | Denver, Colorado, United States | February 21, 1969
Genres | Blues, reggae |
Occupation | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1995–present |
Labels | Alligator, Rounder, Telarc |
Members | Chris Whitley (keyboards), Paul Dudley, (drums) Gordon Jones (saxophone), Jayson Morgan (bass) |
Website | https://coreyharris.net |
Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American blues and reggae musician, [1] currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic guitar blues in the mid-1990s. [2] He was featured on the 2003 PBS television mini-series The Blues , in an episode directed by Martin Scorsese.
Harris was born and raised near Denver, Colorado. [1] He graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine with a bachelor's degree in 1991, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2007. Harris received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for language studies in Cameroon in his early twenties, before taking a teaching post in Napoleonville, Louisiana under the Teach For America program. [2] [3] His debut solo album Between Midnight and Day (1995) was produced by Grammy nominee/composer/producer Larry Hoffman, who discovered him in 1994 in Helena, Arkansas. The record included covers of Sleepy John Estes, Fred McDowell, Charlie Patton, Muddy Waters, and Bukka White. [2] His second recording with Hoffman, Fish Ain't Bitin' , was the recipient of the 1997 W. C. Handy Award for Best Acoustic Blues Album of the Year. Recorded in New Orleans, it featured Harris' original songs, vocal, and guitar backed on certain tracks by a trio of tuba and two trombones arranged by producer Hoffman. In 2002, Harris collaborated with Ali Farka Toure on his album Mississippi to Mali , fusing blues and Toure's music from northern Mali. In 2003, he contributed to the Northern Blues release Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash .
Harris has lived and traveled widely in West Africa, an influence that has permeated much of his work. [1] Harris has toured extensively throughout Europe, Canada, West Africa, Japan and Australia. He is known for his solo acoustic work as well as his electric band, formerly known as the '5 x 5', now known as The Corey Harris Band. He helped Billy Bragg and Wilco to write the music for "Hoodoo Voodoo" on Mermaid Avenue , an album consisting entirely of songs for which the lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie. He also appeared as a musician and vocalist on the album and its sequels, Mermaid Avenue Vol. II and Mermaid Avenue Vol. III .
In September 2007, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced that Harris was among 24 people named MacArthur Fellows for 2007. [4] The Fellowship, worth $500,000, is payable over five years.
Tommy Castro is an American blues, R&B, and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid-1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and international touring. His popularity was marked by his winning the 2008 Blues Music Award for Entertainer of the Year.
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Tinsley Ellis is an American blues and rock musician, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and grew up in South Florida. According to Billboard, "nobody has released more consistently excellent blues albums than Atlanta's Tinsley Ellis. He sings like a man possessed and wields a mean lead guitar."
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Boureima "Vieux" Farka Touré is a Malian singer, composer and guitarist. He is the son of Malian musician Ali Farka Touré.
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"The Story in Your Eyes" is a 1971 hit single by the English rock band the Moody Blues. Written by the band's guitarist Justin Hayward, it was first released as a single with "My Song" on the B-side, and then on the 1971 album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour shortly after.
Mississippi to Mali is an album by Corey Harris. It was released in 2003 through Rounder Records.
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Ali Ibrahim "Ali Farka" Touré was a Malian singer and multi-instrumentalist, and one of the African continent's most internationally renowned musicians. His music blends traditional Malian music and its derivative, African American blues and is considered a pioneer of African desert blues. Touré was ranked number 76 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and number 37 on Spin magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Shardé Thomas is an American fife player in the vanishing American fife and drum blues tradition. She is the granddaughter of Othar Turner, who founded the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, and cousin to bandmate Andre Turner Evans. She plays a homemade cane fife.
Fish Ain't Bitin' is the second album by the American musician Corey Harris, released in 1997 through Alligator Records. Harris supported the album with a North American tour that included shows opening for B.B. King. Fish Ain't Bitin' won a W. C. Handy Award for the best acoustic blues album of 1997.
Greens from the Garden is an album by the American musician Corey Harris, released in 1999. The album title was inspired by a Buddy Guy comment about Harris's country blues. Harris considered the album to be roots music. "Wild West", about gun violence, was released as a single. Harris supported the album with North American and Australian tours.